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Show 0 R E M TIMES Page 3 9mm HH NEWS AND NOTES TO KEEP YOU INFORMED AND INVOLVED Thursday, October 25, 2007 Ski Candidates Continued from Page I would be your budget priorities priori-ties as a City Council member? Margaret Black Black was appointed to fill a vacancy in the City Council in January. She has a 29-year record of serving the city. Her efforts ef-forts have resulted in . the creation of a city park and obtaining obtain-ing needed street lights, traffic lights, and sidewalks. Black has served as Orem's Orchard North Neighborhoods Neighbor-hoods in Action chairwoman; neighborhood Community Emergency Response Team coordinator; chairwoman of the Orchard Park Committee; and as a member of street lighting and housing review committees. She holds a degree in elementary education from BYU and teaches piano. (1) "Most of the land in Orem is already developed, with about 60 percent single family fam-ily residences and 40 percent multi-family residences. It is important to have a variety of housing available to meet the needs of all citizens. I support a carefully planned housing mix in Orem which follows Orem's General Plan with the majority ma-jority being single-family residential resi-dential housing zones ... There could be the possibility of some well-designedmaintained higher high-er density and mixed-use housing hous-ing in proper locations (not in single family residence zones) ..." Black said. (2) One factor in allocating CARE tax money involves ' states rules governing its disbursement, she said, with funding only available for publicly-owned recreational and cultural facilities, or for partial operational costs of non-profit organizations. "Other important factors I consider in the competitive grant process are how the apv plication will encourage, build, and benefit cultural arts or rec-j reational opportunities in Orem " and the number of residents who would be served either as participants or audience," 1 Black said. 2 (3) Black said her budget ?. priorities are, firsrj fund the " basic necessary services for . " the city public safety, water, sewer, roadstransportation, facility maintenance etc. if "Next come other important things such as park and library improvements, beautification, recreation and cultural needs," she said. For more information, go to www .margaret black .com. Carl Hernandez Hernandez earned his law and master of public administration ad-ministration degrees from Brigham Young University Uni-versity and currently serves as assistant as-sistant dean at the BYU Law School. He teaches state and local government law at BYU's Marriott School of Management. Prior to joining join-ing the law school, he served as legal counsel and prosecuting prosecut-ing attorney for several cities. His work included advising city councils on land-use planning, plan-ning, development, neighborhood neighbor-hood preservationcode enforcement, en-forcement, and transportation matters. (1) " ... I favor residential growth in our community which protects the private property rights of those who are developing the property, as well as adjacent property owners who are directly impacted im-pacted by proposed projects," said Hernandez, adding that residential growth should be carefully planned and involve community input. (2) The factors Hernandez would consider in allocating CARE tax funds include: 1. The cultural arts and recreational recre-ational needs of the community, commu-nity, in consultation with the cultural arts and recreation communities, the business community, and citizens; 2. Agencies and facilities which are proven and best situated to meet those needs; and 3. The benefits provided to individuals indi-viduals and families by a cultural cul-tural arts or recreational use. (3) "Orem City has an excellent excel-lent professional staff which has helped the city maintain stable revenue, avoid exces- ; sive debt and prioritize expenditures. expen-ditures. Looking to the future, I would like to see our staff help us to budget in a way which promotes economic development de-velopment (to ensure a stable tax base); provides transportation transporta-tion planning solutions which will ensure efficient traffic niovement: and plans public ; sf fety funding to preserve " the safety and beauty of our neighborhoods." , For jnore information, go to www.carl4orem.com. Mark Seastrand Seastrand has served on the Orem City Council since being appointed to fill a seat left vacant by the late Doug Forsyth in December 2005. In that role, he has served on the city's board of the Commission of Economic Eco-nomic Development of Orem, on the Senior Citizens Commission, Commis-sion, and as a Council liasion to the Planning Commission. He earned a bachelor's degree de-gree in business and an MBA from BYU. He is currently the CEO of a Web-based scrap bookinggraphic arts company and is an industry veteran. (1) Seastrand said mixed use and high-density house has its place in certain parts of the city in a blend with single-family housing so that it doesn't negatively impact a neighborhood's neighbor-hood's quality of life. "I think my motto has been 'The right project in the right place makes sense'," he said. (2) Factors weighed in distributing dis-tributing CARE tax funds, Seastrand said, have been established by the state Legislature Legis-lature and parameters set by the Orem City Council. They include each applicant's need in the community, the nature of the organization, its ties to Orem, and if they are a nonprofit. non-profit. The Council is currently looking at a second round of appropriations where funding can be provided to smaller organizations or-ganizations that initially didn't meet non-profit qualifications. It also allocated $4 million to acquire new property for recreational rec-reational uses. (3) While the city already does a good job as far as public pub-lic safety and transportation, Seastrand said part of his platform plat-form is to invest in the maintenance mainte-nance and upkeep of the city's existing infrastructure, roads and parks. "Let's not lose ground on the resources we already have," he said. y Seastrand said he would continue to support public safety, programs to manage traffic flow, and meeting the needs of Orem's senior residents. resi-dents. For more information, go to www.markseastrand.com. Tom Fifita Sitake Sitake attended BYU-Ha-waii and Brigham Young University where he earned a bachelor s degree in social work and completed com-pleted much of the course work for a master's degree. For over 10 years, he's been the state director direc-tor of vocational rehabilitation at Utah State Hospital in Prove Pro-ve He's been heavily involved with Orem civic organizations, and was recently appointed to serve on the Governor's Advisory Council where he represents Utahns from the Pacific Islands. Sitake also sits on the board of directors for the group home organization Alpine House Inc. (1) "I believe in affordable housing ... for retirees, newly-wed newly-wed couples, and even UVSC students Sitake said. "Whatever it takes ... It's what I support." He said the city has to be cautious about allowing in too many residential developers who are constructing housing that Orem residents simply can't afford. (2) With CARE tax funds, Sitake said the City Council needs to be sure to represent the city's varying cultures and support arts programs as a way of serving Orem's diverse di-verse groups. "I believe in allowing (various (vari-ous organizations) to express themselves," he said. He said CARE funds should be used to beautify the city, its parks, and to support Orem's youth recreation programs. (3) Sitake said one of the city's budget priorities should emphasize the retention of Orem's small businesses which are often swallowed up by big box stores that come in and put them out of business. Other top priorities include supporting affordable housing and continuing the legacy of the city's capable public safety department. "(They) have done a great job," he said. "We need to build on the strong founda-. founda-. tions they have left behind." For more information, contact Sitake at tomsitake hotmail.com. Brent Sumner Sumner graduated from Orem High School, served in the Utah Army National Guard and then attended Snow College and Brigham i Young University where he earned a bachelor's degree in communications. For 30 years, Sumner was the owner of the Orem-Geneva Times newspaper, during which time he developed a strong relationship with the city and Orem City Council. Currently, the student media director at Utah Valley State College, Sumner has headed up the leadership of Orem's annual Summerfest since its beginnings and has served on the city's recreation committee commit-tee for six years including one as chairman. (1) He feels it's important for the City Council to preserve pre-serve and where ever possible, improve, Orem's neighborhoods. "Many people have lived here for decades and we need to keep them homey and cozy," Sumner Sum-ner said. Mixed-use develop ments, he said, have their place and should be looked at on a case-by case-by -case basis to make sure they don't disturb the quality of life in surrounding neighborhoods. neigh-borhoods. (2) In disbursing CARE tax revenues, Sumner said the Council should closely examine all applicants, and determine de-termine how residents would benefit from each program. Though the SCERA Center for the Arts is heavily used by residents, he said attention needs to be paid to organizations organiza-tions like the Hale Center Theater The-ater Orem and others. (3) A high budget priority prior-ity for Sumner would be to continue to provide Orem's Public Safety department with the training, resources and manpower it needs to serve residents. "I listen to the news every day about increased crime in the city," he said. "Orem is in pretty good shape (but) I just think public safety needs to really be right near the top." Other high priorities for Sumner include maintaining maintain-ing the city's infrastructure, roads, recreation and adequate ad-equate city staffing. For more information, go to www.brentsumner.com. Michael J. Whimpey A lifelong resident of Orem, Whimpey earned bachelor's and master's degrees in civil and environmental engineering from Brigham Young Univer sity. A licensed professional engineer engi-neer and a project manager for the Central Utah Water Conservancy Con-servancy District, Whimpey oversees large capital improvement improve-ment projects, engineering studies, and the planning and design of dams, storage tanks, and water delivery systems. He is actively involved in professional pro-fessional organizations related to his field. (1) "As Orem's vacant lands become scarcer, development will likely go up with more projects similar to Midtown Village," Whimpey said. "I also believe that Orem needs to take a proactive approach to 'sprucing up' older rundown areas of the community (i.e., redevelopment projects) and should look for opportunities to provide affordable housing, such as town home and condominium condo-minium projects ..." Whimpey noted that projects should be done "at appropriate locations where the proposed density can be supported by area infrastructure and not adversely impact surrounding neighborhoods." (2) Whimpey listed the following fol-lowing factors he would use in allocating CARE tax funds: 1. Funding allocations should benefit ben-efit equally cultural and recreation recre-ation programs. 2. Recipients of funds should have a major presence in Orem and should primarily benefit Orem residents. 3. Orga-nizations Orga-nizations receiving funds should show that they are not financially dependent on the grants. 4. Funds should be given to established, proven organizations to augment rather than fully fund their programs. 5. Recipients should be registered as non-profit organizations. or-ganizations. (3) "While Orem has been recognized as one of the safest saf-est cities in the nation, public safety should continue to be a high priority," Whimpey said. He also cited as priorities emergency preparedness, public pub-lic works and infrastructure, maintenance, beautification, sidewalks, traffic signals, neighborhood preservation, parks and recreation facilities, bike paths, library operations, cultural arts, economic development, devel-opment, and city staff compensation. compen-sation. For more information, go to www.mikewhimpey.com. iNorthCounty H :M W S P A P E R S ' '99. State St. Pleasant Grove Phone: 756-7669 Fax: 756-5274 i4 MalcrMdpck 443 3268 tyoflfr Cpuntypditor 'ifiha3ddckheradextta.com ! 1 i Cathy Allredi443-3262 iMhi, Saratoga Springs;. PI. Crove :"cailredprtetaldextra.corn Barbara Christiansen 443-3264 Arrjprican fork, Alpine, Cedar Hills bctetiansen&heraldextra.com MikeRigert 443-3265 Orem, tyiey&d " ; mrigertheraldpxtra.com Beky Beaton 443-3267 bbeatonheraldextra.com Josh Walker 443-3260 Advertising Accojjnt Executive jwalkerheraldextra.com DAILY HERALD PUBLISHING CO. Jennette Esplin 756 7669 Office Manager Julia Fullmer 344-2570 Project Coordinator, DesignerCopy Editor Megan Carleton 344 2570 DesignerCopy Editor Ashley Franscell 344 2585 Photographer V Volume 134 Issue 93 Orem Times baity Herald Edition, USPS 411-700, a weekly newspaper published at 399 E. State St.. Pleasant Grove, Utah 84063. Periodicals postage paid at Pleasant Grove, Utah 84062 and at additional mailing offices'.1 Potmiter Send address changes to Orem Times, P 0. Box 65, Orem, Utah 84059-0065. Published Thursdays by Lee Publications, which is a division of Lee ; Enterprises, Inc. Mambar: Audit Bureau of Circulations ft MiteMSifljtf Two evenings of nonsense fe went from the ridiculous ri-diculous to the even more ridiculous over the weekend, with a glimpse into the present and fu ture of theater in Utah County. Saturday night we were treated to Frank Ferrante's one-man show "An Evening with Groucho" at Provo's new Covey Center for the Arts. The show was great, but the venue turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. disappoint-ment. Then on Monday, we went to the opening night of the SCERA' "The BFG: Big Friendly Giant," a play designed de-signed for the younger set. It was all about fun. Sharon was surprised when I expressed interest in "An Evening with Groucho." But I thought it looked like the perfect opportunity to see Provo's new multi-million multi-million dollar theater. And "Lydia the Tattooed Lady," one of Groucho Marx's signature tunes, is one of my favorites. Ferrante was another big draw, one I thought would appeal to lots of people. He's been interpreting Groucho Marx's material for 20 years, with successful shows in New York and in London's West End. His performance of "Groucho: A Life in Revue," portraying the comedian from age 15 to 85. It was his first appearance ap-pearance in Utah. This is just the kind of theater the new venue should attract. The show was great. The man is serious about entertaining people as one of the most unpredictable performers of all time. And he pulls it off well, mixing Groucho's one-liners with his best known songs, and effortlessly ad-libbing with the audience. He worked hard to entertain the fairly sparse audience of about 200. Most of us had grey hair or no hair, although there were some young Marx Brothers fans in the audience, audi-ence, too. Ferrante had an uphill battle, but it wasn't his fault that he was booked into the new theater the-ater the same day BYU played a home football game. His was the first out-of-the-area performance perfor-mance in the 670-seat Covey concert hall, and the turnout had to be disappointing. The theater didn't even charge for admission, just trying to fill the seats. Marc Haddock THE EDITOR'S COLUMN The theater is beautiful, but stark. For example, there were no concessions. You had to go outside to chew a piece of gum. It's the first theatrical production I've ever been to where you couldn't buy a candy bar or a cup of ice cream, and couldn't consume anything in the lobby. The plastic on the seats added to the impression of being inside the home of a fussy aunt who doesn't want anything to get soiled. To be fair, the plastic is there because be-cause the red dye on the seat cushions cush-ions rubs off. The city and contractor contrac-tor are working on resolving this. Still, it was a show about one of the zaniest performers ever in one of the most uptight venues in the county. But when Ferrante sang "Lydia," it was magic. You forgot he was an actor, and not the real deal. The SCERA experience was, of course, completely different. The theater is broken in. You can buy all the candy, popcorn and soft drinks you want, and eat them anywhere. "The BFG" was fun, with creative effects that include using live actors and puppets to create the giant. It was silly, just like the Roald Dahl book the play Ls taken from. The actors, mostly in their 20s, were good, but lacked the experience and professionalism professional-ism of Ferrante, who has been interpreting Groucho Marx about as long as most of these kids have been alive. We took along some grandkids to see how they would react, and they loved the show, especially the 8- and 6-year-old boys. I expect the hundreds of grade schoolers who attend this show with their classmates will have that same experience. Groucho would have gone over well with this audience too. Especially those who watch Bugs Bunny. I'm not sure which of these theaters has the brightest future. The Covey theater has a lot of bookings. From now until Christmas there are concerts, "Messiah" sing-alongs and the Utah Regional Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker," which should sell out every night. The Allison Brown Quartet is booked for a Nov. 2 concert. That should be interesting. The theater is beautiful but it wasn't much fun. Big Read Continued from Page I to the literature. "We're required to read it (but it made it more) interesting interest-ing with other people in the community reading it purely for pleasure," he said. One of the main themes the Mountain View classes have been discussing, Jones said, is the idea of tension created when the Bohemian immigrants arrive in what until then had been largely a Scandinavian Nebraska. "We've made the connection connec-tion between Bohemians and Swedes coming to Nebraska and the more contemporary immigration here in Utah," he said. Nearly across the board, students' feedback on the school-community reading has been positive, Jones said. Jason Cottrell, a Mountain View senior in Jones's AP English class, said he has almost al-most finished the book. "I really love it because it opens up a world I've never experienced before," he said. "It's really interesting because (Cather) puts in so much detail of her history, the landscape and the setting of people's lives." Because of Cather's distinct dis-tinct literary voice, Cottrell said it's unlike anything students stu-dents have read before and many of his classmates have been "captivated" if not interested inter-ested in the novel. On Monday, Orem library division manager Meg Spencer, a theater major in college, and her husband, held a "My Antonia" reader's theater, reciting a script of period immigrant letters and writings from pioneer records. Nearly 100 people of all ages attended the activity, she said, including about 30 high school-aged students. iCopy i - -1 A i A A j .fV.r J -' 1 1 ' if i i. |